Uninterruptible power supply systems and methods supporting load balancing

ABSTRACT

An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system that includes a multiphase AC output configured to be coupled to a load, an inverter having an output coupled to the AC output and a control circuit operatively associated with the inverter and configured to cause the inverter to compensate for a phase imbalance of a load coupled to the AC output while power is being delivered to the load from an AC power source independently of the inverter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The inventive subject matter relates to power supply systems and methodsand, more particularly, to uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systemsand methods.

Data centers, industrial facilities, medical facilities and the likeoften have three-phase AC power distribution systems that are protectedby UPS systems. Three-phase UPS systems may be used in such applicationsto provide backup power to maintain operation in event of failure of theprimary utility supply. Three-phase UPS systems commonly have an“on-line” configuration including a rectifier and inverter coupled by aDC link that is also coupled to an auxiliary source, such as a battery,flywheel converter or other energy storage device.

A frequent goal in such applications is to provide uninterruptible powerwith high efficiency. Towards this end, on-line UPSs may support an“efficiency” mode in which the rectifier/inverter conversion chain isbypassed using a static switch when the utility source is withinnominally acceptable bounds, so that power is not needlessly wasted inthe rectifier/inverter chain. In addition, renewable sources, such asphotovoltaic sources, may be coupled to the DC link of an on-line UPS toprovide supplemental power, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.7,411,308 to Parmley and an article entitled “Photovoltaic UPS” byJayasimha et al., IEEE TENCON 2003 Conference on Convergent Technologiesfor Asia-Pacific Region, vol. 4, pp. 1419-1423 (2003).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter provide anuninterruptible power supply (UPS) system that includes a multiphase ACoutput configured to be coupled to a load, an inverter having an outputcoupled to the AC output and a control circuit operatively associatedwith the inverter and configured to cause the inverter to compensate fora phase imbalance of a load coupled to the AC output while power isbeing delivered to the load from an AC power source independently of theinverter.

In some embodiments, the control circuit may be configured to cause theinverter to load a first phase at the AC output and transfer powertherefrom to a second phase at the AC output to compensate for a phaseimbalance of a load coupled to the AC output. In some embodiments, theinverter may have a DC input coupled to an auxiliary power source, suchas a battery and/or a variably available solar or wind power source. Thecontrol circuit may be configured to cause the inverter to transferpower between the auxiliary power source and a phase at the AC output tocompensate for the phase imbalance.

In further embodiments, the UPS system includes an AC input configuredto be coupled to the AC power source, a rectifier configured to receivepower from the AC input, a DC link coupling an output of the rectifierto an input of the inverter and a bypass circuit configured toselectively couple and decouple the AC input and the AC output. Thecontrol circuit may be configured to cause the inverter to load a firstphase at the AC output and transfer power therefrom to a second phase atthe AC output to compensate for phase imbalance of a load coupled to theAC output when the AC input is coupled to the AC input by the bypasscircuit. The DC link may be coupled to an auxiliary power source, andthe control circuit may be further configured to cause the inverter totransfer power between the auxiliary power source and the load tocompensate for the phase imbalance. The auxiliary power source mayinclude a battery or other energy storage device and/or variablyavailable power source, such as a solar power source or a wind powersource.

Additional embodiments provide an apparatus including an invertercoupled to a multiphase AC power source and a control circuitoperatively associated with the inverter and configured to cause theinverter to load a first phase of the AC power source and transfer powertherefrom to a second phase of the AC power source to compensate for aphase imbalance of a load coupled to the AC power source. The invertermay be an inverter of a UPS.

Some method embodiments of the inventive subject matter include couplingone or more loads to a multiphase AC power source and operating aninverter coupled to the multiphase AC power source to compensate for aphase imbalance of the one or more loads while power is being deliveredto the load from the AC power source independently of the inverter. Theinverter may be an inverter of a UPS. An input of the inverter may becoupled to an auxiliary power source and power may be transferredbetween the auxiliary power source and the load via the inverter tocompensate for the phase imbalance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a UPS system according tosome embodiments of the inventive subject matter.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a UPS system according tofurther embodiments of the inventive subject matter

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary inverterimplementation for the UPS system of FIG. 2 according to furtherembodiments of the inventive subject matter.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a UPS system with anauxiliary variably available power source according to some embodimentsof the inventive subject matter.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary inverterimplementation for the UPS system of FIG. 4 according to furtherembodiments of the inventive subject matter.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a UPS system according tofurther embodiments of the inventive subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Specific exemplary embodiments of the inventive subject matter now willbe described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This inventivesubject matter may, however, be embodied in many different forms andshould not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein;rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventivesubject matter to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, likenumbers refer to like elements. It will be understood that when anelement is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to anotherelement, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element orintervening elements may be present. As used herein the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the inventivesubject matter. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the”are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expresslystated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“includes,” “comprises,” “including” and/or “comprising,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this inventive subject matterbelongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those definedin commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaningthat is consistent with their meaning in the context of thespecification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the inventive subjectmatter may be embodied as systems, methods and computer programproducts. Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter may includehardware and/or combinations of hardware and software. Some embodimentsof the inventive subject matter include circuitry configured to providefunctions described herein. It will be appreciated that such circuitrymay include analog circuits, digital circuits, and combinations ofanalog and digital circuits.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter are described below withreference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations of systemsand methods according to various embodiments of the inventive subjectmatter. It will be understood that each block of the block diagramsand/or operational illustrations, and combinations of blocks in theblock diagrams and/or operational illustrations, can be implemented byanalog and/or digital hardware, and/or computer program instructions.These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, ASIC, and/or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer and/or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, create means for implementingthe functions/acts specified in the block diagrams and/or operationalillustrations. In some implementations, the functions/acts noted in thefigures may occur out of the order noted in the block diagrams and/oroperational illustrations. For example, two operations shown asoccurring in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently or the operations may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.

Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter relate to interfacingof variably available power sources with UPSs. As referred to herein,“variably available power sources” include power sources, such as solar,wind, tidal and similar renewable energy sources, having an availability(e.g., presence and capacity) that fluctuates with environmentalconditions (e.g., availability of wind, sun or tidal change) and thatare not, as a general rule, available on demand. Such power sources mayalso be referred to as “variable”, “intermittent” or “non-dispatchable”and, for purposes of the present application, such sources shall bereferred to as “variably available power sources.”

In some multi-phase UPS applications, such as data centers, a largenumber of single phase loads may be manually connected to thedistribution system served by a multi-phase UPS. Because of the natureof the loads and the manner in which they are connected, this may resultin an unbalanced loading of the distribution system. The utilityprovided to an installation may be shielded from this phase imbalance byan online UPS operating in an on-line mode, but the imbalance may bereflected to the utility if UPS is operating in a bypassed highefficiency mode. Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter arisefrom a realization that such imbalance may be addressed by using theoutput inverter of the UPS to selectively load the phases of thedistribution to compensate for such load imbalance. For example, in someembodiments, the inverter may be used to transfer power between phasescompensate for the load imbalance. According to further embodiments, avariably available power source, such as a photovoltaic source, may beused to compensate for load imbalance instead of, or in combinationwith, such inter-phase power transfers.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 according to some embodiments of theinventive subject matter. The system 100 includes an inverter 110coupled to a phases 15 a, 15 b, 15 c connecting a multiphase load 20 toan AC power source 10. The AC power source 10 may include, for example,a utility power source and or a local power source, such as a localgenerator. A phase-balancing control circuit 120 of the system 100 isoperatively associated with the inverter 110 and configured to cause theinverter 110 to selectively load the phases 15 a, 15 b, 15 c to supportinter-phase power transfers that compensate for phase imbalance of theload 20 while the AC power source 10 delivers power to the load 20independently of the inverter 110. In this manner, the bulk of the powerconsumed by the load 20 may be efficiently delivered directly by the ACpower source 10, and the inverter 110 may be limited to only processingthe amount of power needed to make up for phase imbalance of the load20. In on-line UPS system embodiments described below, such a techniquemay be advantageously used to support a high-efficiency bypass mode withinverter phase balancing that may avoid losses associated with usingon-line operation to balance phases. In various embodiments, the system100 may be a standalone device or in a UPS system, such as an on-lineUPS, standby or line-interactive UPS.

FIG. 2 illustrates an on-line UPS system 200 according to someembodiments of the inventive subject matter. The UPS system 200 includesa series conversion circuit comprising a rectifier 210 and an inverter220 coupled by a DC link 215. An input of the rectifier 210 is coupledto an AC input 201 that is configured to be coupled to an AC powersource 10. An output of the inverter 220 is configured to be coupled toa load 20 at an AC output 202. The DC link 215 may be configured to becoupled to an auxiliary energy source 30, such as one or more batteriesand/or other power sources, such as fuel cells or variably availablepower sources (e.g., solar or wind power sources). A bypass circuit,e.g., a static switch 230, is configured to couple and decouple the ACinput 201 and the AC output 202 of the UPS system 200. For example, thestatic switch 230 may be used to couple the AC input 201 to the ACoutput 202 and thereby bypass the rectifier 210 and inverter 220 in ahigh-efficiency bypass mode of the UPS system 200. It will beappreciated that the above-described components may be integrated in oneassembly or may implemented using multiple interoperating assemblieswith connecting power and control links.

A control circuit 240 is operatively associated with the rectifier 210,inverter 220 and static switch 230. The control circuit 240 generallymay be configured to, for example, monitor status of the AC power source10, to control a DC voltage generated on the DC link 215 by therectifier 210 and/or auxiliary energy source 30, to control operation ofthe static switch 230 to provide on-line and bypassed modes of operationand to control an AC waveform produced at the AC output 202 by theinverter 220 during on-line operation. The control circuit 240 isfurther configured to cause the inverter 220 to perform phase balancingoperations along the lines discussed above with reference to FIG. 1 whenthe rectifier 210 and inverter 220 are bypassed, i.e., when the AC powersource 10 is directly coupled to the load 20 by the bypass circuit 230.As illustrated, phase balancing may be accomplished by transferringpower among AC phases 235 a, 235 b, 235 c and/or by selectivelytransferring power between the AC phases 235 a, 235 b, 235 c and theauxiliary power source 30.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary implementation of an inverter 310 andassociated control circuit 320 that may be used in a system according tosome embodiments of the inventive subject matter, e.g., in the UPSsystem 200 of FIG. 2. The inverter 310 comprises a plurality ofpulse-width modulated (PWM) bridge circuits coupled to between two DCbusses 330 a, 330 b and driven by the control circuit 320 responsive tocontrol inputs, such as the phase currents i_(a), i_(b), i_(c) of thephases 340 a, 340 b, 340 c. The control circuit 320 may, for example,implement a control loop that acts to control duty cycles of thetransistors of the bridge circuits of the inverter 310 to substantiallyequalize the phase currents i_(a), i_(b), i_(c) by transferring currentamong the phases 340 a, 340 b, 340 c and/or between the DC busses 330 a,330 b and the phases 340 a, 340 b, 340 c.

According to additional aspects of the inventive subject matter, avariably available power source, such as a solar power or wind powersource, may be used in lieu of and/or in conjunction with phasebalancing along the lines described above. FIG. 4 illustrates a UPSsystem 400 including a rectifier 410 and an inverter 420 coupled by a DClink 415. An input of the rectifier 410 is coupled to an AC input 401that is configured to be coupled to an AC power source 10, and an outputof the inverter 420 is configured to be coupled to a load 20 at an ACoutput 402. A bypass circuit, e.g., a static switch 430, is configuredto couple and decouple the AC input 401 and the AC output 402. Forexample, the static switch 430 may be used to couple the AC input 401 tothe AC output 402 and thereby bypass the rectifier 410 and inverter 420in a high-efficiency bypass mode.

The UPS system 400 also includes a battery interface circuit 440configured to couple the DC link to one or more batteries 40. In someembodiments, the battery interface circuit 440 may include, for example,a DC/DC converter circuit configured to convert between a voltage of thebattery(s) 40 and a voltage of the DC link 415. In further embodiments,the battery interface circuit 440 may provide a non-voltage convertingcoupling between the battery(s) and the DC link. It will be appreciatedthat, in general, the battery interface circuit 440 may include any of avariety of components for coupling the battery(s) 40 and the DC link415, such as fuses, switches, circuit breakers and the like, along withcomponents that may provide, for example, current and/or voltagemonitoring or circuit protection. The battery interface circuit 440 maysupport unidirectional or bidirectional power transfers between the DClink 415 and the battery(s) 40. For example, in addition to supportingpower flow from the battery(s) 40 to the DC link 415 for backup powerand phase balancing, the battery interface circuit 440 may also be usedto charge the battery(s) 40 by transferring power from the DC link 415to the battery(s).

The UPS system 400 further includes a variably available power sourceinterface circuit 450, which is configured to interface a variablyavailable power source 50, such as a solar and/or wind power source, tothe DC link 415. In some embodiments, the variably available powersource interface circuit 450 may include, for example, a DC/DC convertercircuit configured to convert between a voltage of the variablyavailable power source 50 and a voltage of the DC link 415. In furtherembodiments, the variably available power source interface circuit 450may provide a non-voltage converting coupling between the variablyavailable power source 50 and the DC link. It will be appreciated that,in general, the variably available power source interface circuit 450may include any of a variety of components for coupling the variablyavailable power source 50 and the DC link 415, such as fuses, switches,circuit breakers and the like, along with components that may provide,for example, current and/or voltage monitoring or circuit protection.

A control circuit 460 of the UPS system 400 is configured to control therectifier 410, the inverter 420 and the static switch 430, and mayfurther control the battery interface circuit 440 and/or the variablyavailable power source interface circuit 450. Among other functions, thecontrol circuit 460 may cause the static, switch 430 to bypass therectifier 410 and inverter 420 and control the inverter 420 to supportphase balancing along the lines described above, e.g., by controllingcurrent transfer among the phases 435 a, 435 b, 435 c coupled to thestatic switch 430 and/or by selectively transferring power between theDC link 415 and the AC output 402. Power supplied by the variablyavailable power source 50 may be used for such phase balancing purposesby, for example, selectively transferring power between the DC link 415to the phases 435 a, 435 b, 435 c.

It will be appreciated that some or all of the above-describedcomponents of the UPS system 400 may be integrated in one assembly ormay be implemented using multiple interoperating assemblies withconnecting power and control links.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary implementation of an inverter 510 andassociated control circuit 520 that may be used in a system according tosome embodiments of the inventive subject matter, e.g., in the UPSsystem 400 of FIG. 4. The inverter 510 comprises a plurality ofpulse-width modulated (PWM) bridge circuits coupled to between two DCbusses 530 a, 530 b and driven by the control circuit 520 responsive tocontrol inputs, such as the phase currents i_(a), i_(b), i_(c) of thephases 540 a, 540 b, 540 c and the voltages V+, V− of the DC busses 530a, 530 b. The control circuit 520 may, for example, implement a controlloop that acts to control duty cycles of the respective transistors ofthe bridge circuits of the inverter 510 to substantially equalize thephase currents i_(a), i_(b), i_(c) by transferring current among thephases 540 a, 540 b, 540 c and/or between the DC busses 330 a, 330 b andselected ones of the phases 540 a, 540 b, 540 c. The voltages V+, V− ofthe DC busses 530 a, 530 b may indicate, for example, if power for phasebalancing is available from a variably available power source (e.g., aphotovoltaic array or wind generator) coupled thereto.

Embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 2-5 involve on-lineUPS implementations. However, further embodiments of the inventivesubject matter may be implemented in standby and line-interactive UPSconfigurations. For example, referring to FIG. 6, a standby orline-interactive UPS system 600 may include an inverter 610 controlledby a phase-balancing control circuit 620 along lines described above andcoupled to one or more batteries 40 that provide backup power. Inparticular, the inverter 610 may be configured to selectively load thephases 15 a, 15 b, 15 c to support inter-phase power transfers thatcompensate for phase imbalance of the load 20 and/or may selectivelytransfer power between the one more batteries 40 and the phase 15 a, 15b, 15 c to compensate for phase imbalance. In some embodiments of theinventive subject matter, the battery(s) 40 may charged via the inverter610, e.g., the control circuit 620 may operate the inverter as arectifier to charge the battery(s) 40. Is some embodiments, thebattery(s) 40 may be charged using a separate battery charger (notshown). A similar configuration may also be used with a variablyavailable power source, such as a solar array, e.g., the battery (s) 40may be replaced by a variably available power source. In someembodiments, a standalone device without auxiliary power sourcecapability may also be used for phase balancing, for example, aninverter apparatus that uses capacitors for short-term energy storage tosupport inter-phase power transfers.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed exemplaryembodiments of the invention. Although specific terms are employed, theyare used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being defined by the followingclaims.

1. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system, comprising: amultiphase AC output configured to be coupled to a load; an inverterhaving an output coupled to the AC output; and a control circuitoperatively associated with the inverter and configured to cause theinverter to compensate for a phase imbalance of a load coupled to the ACoutput while power is being delivered to the load from an AC powersource independently of the inverter.
 2. The UPS system of claim 1,wherein the control circuit is configured to cause the inverter to loada first phase at the AC output and transfer power to a second phase atthe AC output to compensate for a phase imbalance of a load coupled tothe AC output.
 3. The UPS system of claim 2, further comprising: an ACinput configured to be coupled to the AC power source a rectifierconfigured to receive power from the AC input; a DC link coupling anoutput of the rectifier to an input of the inverter; and a bypasscircuit configured to selectively couple and decouple the AC input andthe AC output, wherein the control circuit is configured to cause theinverter to load a first phase at the AC output and transfer power to asecond phase at the AC output to compensate for phase imbalance of aload coupled to the AC output when the AC input is coupled to the ACinput by the bypass circuit.
 4. The UPS system of claim 3, wherein theDC link is coupled to an auxiliary power source.
 5. The UPS system ofclaim 4, wherein the auxiliary power source comprises a variablyavailable power source and/or a battery.
 6. The UPS system of claim 5,wherein the variably available power source comprises a wind powersource and/or a solar power source.
 7. The UPS system of claim 1,wherein the inverter comprises a DC input configured to receive powerfrom an auxiliary power source and wherein the control circuit isconfigured to cause the inverter to selectively transfer power betweenthe auxiliary power source and the AC output to compensate for the phaseimbalance.
 8. The UPS system of claim 7, wherein the auxiliary powersource comprises a variably available power source and/or a battery. 9.The UPS system of claim 8, wherein the variably available power sourcecomprises a wind power source and/or a solar power source.
 10. Anapparatus comprising: an inverter coupled to a multiphase AC powersource; and a control circuit operatively associated with the inverterand configured to cause the inverter to load a first phase of the ACpower source and transfer power to a second phase of the AC power sourceto compensate for a phase imbalance of a load coupled to the AC powersource.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the inverter comprises aninverter of a UPS.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein an input ofthe inverter is coupled to an auxiliary power source and wherein thecontrol circuit is configured to cause the inverter to transfer powerbetween the auxiliary power source and the load to compensate for thephase imbalance.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the auxiliarypower source comprises a battery and/or a variably available powersource.
 14. The UPS system of claim 13, wherein the variably availablepower source comprises a wind power source and/or a solar power source.15. A method comprising: coupling one or more loads to a multiphase ACpower source; and operating an inverter coupled to the multiphase ACpower source to compensate for a phase imbalance of the one or moreloads while power is being delivered to the load from the AC powersource independently of the inverter.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the inverter comprises an inverter of a UPS.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein an input of the inverter is coupled to an auxiliarypower source and wherein the method further comprises transferring powerbetween the auxiliary power source and the load to compensate for thephase imbalance.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the auxiliary powersource comprises a battery and/or a variably available power source. 19.The method of claim 18, wherein the variably available power sourcecomprises a wind power source and/or a solar power source.